Minor League Ball Morning Report: Thursday, May 31st, 2018

Good morning everyone and welcome to the Minor League Ball Morning Report for Thursday, May 31st, 2018. The 2018 MLB Draft is approaching rapidly and we have a lot of interesting material in the works for you. But we still have regular prospect news to examine, so let’s do that.

****Baltimore Orioles prospect David Hess performed well in his start against the Washington Nationals, giving up one run over six innings of work on four hits and one walk, fanning a pair. He has a 3.47 ERA in 23.1 innings with a 12/6 K/BB. Seems like he can be a competent fourth starter.

****St. Louis Cardinals prospect Alex Reyes threw four scoreless innings against the Milwaukee Brewers in his first MLB start since recovery from Tommy John surgery but was removed from the game earlier than expected when his velocity suddenly dropped. Reports say he was simply fatigued. More details at VivaElBirdos.

****Texas Rangers right-handed pitching prospect Jonathan Hernandez threw eight shutout innings for High-A Down East, giving up just two hits and one walk while striking out 11. He has a 32/4 K/BB in his last three starts.

****Colorado Rockies shortstop prospect Brendan Rodgers went 3-for-4 with a home run for Double-A Hartford. He’s cooled recently after a hot start but is still hitting .286/.325/.529 overall.

****Philadelphia Phillies pitching prospect Will Stewart threw a nine-inning complete game shutout for Low-A Lakewood in South Atlantic League play, fanning ten with three hits and no walks allowed. He has a 1.23 ERA in 58.2 innings with a 53/8 K/BB.

****More highlights can be found in yesterday’s Gameday discussion thread.

*******REMINDER*******

The Minor League Ball Community Mock Draft begins at noon central time on Wednesday, June 2nd